Kemi Badenoch LIVE: Tory leader to make huge migrant announcement in major fightback

The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) cannot be reformed, the shadow home secretary has said.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch is to say in a speech on Friday that she is “increasingly of the view” that the UK should withdraw from the international human rights treaty.

It was put to Chris Philp that the secretary-general of the Council of Europe told The Times newspaper there is “no taboo” on rewriting ECHR rules.

Asked if it is something his party would consider, Mr Philp told the BBC Today programme: “I don’t really take that very seriously. There have been previous attempts to do it.”

“2012, Ken Clark tried to reform it through the Brighton process. Theresa May tried to legislate domestically, I think on Article 8 in 2014 or 2015 – that didn’t work.

“Just a week or two ago, nine European leaders – the prime ministers of nine European countries, including Poland and Italy – wrote to this gentleman, the secretary-general of the Council of Europe, saying that there needs to be reform, and he issued a statement almost immediately, accusing them of trying to politicise the court and essentially rebuffing their overture. So I’m afraid I don’t have the view that it can be reformed.”